Irish grammar

This article discusses the grammar of the Irish language.

The morphology of Irish is in some respects typical of an Indo-European language. Nouns are declined for number and case, and verbs for person and number. Nouns are classified by masculine or feminine gender. Other aspects of Irish morphology, while typical for a Celtic language, are not typical for Indo-European, such as the presence of inflected prepositions and the initial consonant mutations. Irish syntax is also rather different from that of most Indo-European languages, due to its use of the verb–subject–object word order.

Syntax

Main article: Irish syntax

Word order in Irish is of the form VSO (verb–subject–object) so that, for example, "He hit me" is Bhuail [hit-past tense] sĂ© [he] mĂ© [me].

One distinctive aspect of Irish is the distinction between is, the copula (known in Irish as an chopail), and tĂĄ. Is describes identity or quality in a permanence sense, while temporary aspects are described by tĂĄ. This is similar to the difference between the verbs ser and estar in Spanish and Portuguese (see Romance copula), although this is not an exact match; is and tĂĄ are cognate respectively with the Spanish es and estĂĄ.

Examples are:

Nouns

Irish is an inflected language, having, in its standard form, the following cases: common (the old nominative and accusative), vocative and genitive. In Munster dialects a dative form persisted, though this has been largely discarded by younger speakers. The present inflectional system represents a radical simplification of the grammar of Old Irish.

Irish nouns may be masculine or feminine (the neuter having disappeared). To a certain degree the gender difference is indicated by specific word endings, -ĂĄn and -Ă­n being masculine and -Ăłg feminine. While it has disappeared from vocabulary, the neuter gender is still to be seen in various place names in Ireland.

Articles

The Irish definite article has two forms: an and na. An may cause lenition, eclipsis, or neither. Na may cause eclipsis, but the only instance of lenition with na is with the genitive singular of the word céad meaning first. An is used in the common case singular for all nouns, and lenites feminine nouns. In the genitive singular, an with lenition is used with masculine nouns, na with feminine nouns. In the dative singular, an may cause lenition or eclipsis depending on the preposition preceding it and on regional norms (in Ulster usage, lenition is standard with all prepositions, while in other regions eclipsis is used with many). Na is the only plural form of the article; it causes eclipsis in the genitive for both genders, and no mutation in other cases.

There is no indefinite article in Irish; the word appears by itself, for example: TĂĄ peann agam. - "I have a pen", TĂĄ madra sa seomra. - "There's a dog in the room".

Adjectives

Irish adjectives always follow the noun. The adjective is influenced by the case, number and gender of the noun preceding it.

Adjectives in Irish have two morphological degrees of comparison: the positive (Irish: bunchĂ©im), e.g. TĂĄ an buachaill cairdiĂșil "the boy is friendly", and the comparative (Irish: breischĂ©im), e.g. TĂĄ an cailĂ­n nĂ­os cairdiĂșla nĂĄ an buachaill "the girl is nicer than the boy". A superlative (Irish: sĂĄrchĂ©im) sense is rendered by the comparative in a relative clause, e.g. Is Ă© SeĂĄn an pĂĄiste is cairdiĂșla den triĂșr "SeĂĄn is the nicest child of the three".

Verbs

Main article: Irish conjugation

There are two conjugations and 11 irregular verbs. Tenses or moods are formed by inflecting the stem, and in the past and habitual past tenses and the conditional mood also by leniting any initial consonant. The inflected tense and mood forms are: present indicative, present habitual indicative (differs from present only in the verb bĂ­ "to be"), future, past indicative, past habitual indicative, conditional, imperative, present subjunctive, and past subjunctive. Verbs also have a verbal noun and past participle, and progressive constructions similar to those using the English present participle may be formed from the verbal noun and an appropriate tense of bĂ­. Examples of tense conjugations: (all third person forms without subject pronoun):

There is no passive proper in Irish, but there is an impersonal form of the verb, termed the saorbhriathar or "autonomous verb".

Verbs can be conjugated either synthetically (with the personal pronoun included in the verb inflection) or analytically (with the verb inflected for tense only and a separate subject). However, the official standard generally prescribes the analytic form in most person-tense combinations, and the synthetic in only some cases. The analytic forms are also generally preferred in the western and northern dialects, except in answer to what would in English be "yes/no" questions. For example, the following are the standard form, synthetic form and analytical form of the past tense of rith "to run":

Person Standard Synthetic Analytic
1st sing rith mé ritheas rith mé
2nd sing rith tĂș rithis rith tĂș
3rd sing rith sé rith rith sé
1st plural ritheamar ritheamar rith sinn / rith muid*
2nd plural rith sibh ritheabhar rith sibh
3rd plural rith siad ritheadar rith siad
Impersonal ritheadh ritheadh ritheadh
*muid is non-standard but is the usual 1st person plural pronoun in the western and northern dialects.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns in Irish do not inflect for case, but there are three different sets of pronouns used: conjunctive forms, disjunctive forms, and emphatic forms (which may be used either conjunctively or disjunctively)

Conjunctive forms

The normal word order in Irish is verb–subject–object (VSO). The forms of the subject pronoun directly following the verb are called conjunctive:

Person Singular Plural
1st mé (muid)
2nd tĂș sibh
3rd masc. sé
fem. sĂ­
siad

The form muid in the 1st person plural is not used in the standard language, but is very common in western and northern dialects. The standard and southern dialects have no subject pronoun in the 1st person plural, using the synthetic verb ending -imĂ­d (alt -imid) instead.

Irish has no T–V distinction, i.e. it does not differentiate between formal and familiar forms of second person pronouns. The difference between tĂș and sibh is purely one of number.

There is no equivalent to the English "it", either "sé" or "sí" are used depending on whether the thing the speaker is referring to is a masculine noun or a feminine noun. The exception is the pronoun ea, used in impersonal copula phrases, particularly in the phrases is ea (> 'sea) "yes", "so", "that is so", ní hea (the opposite of is ea), nach ea? "is that not so?", an ea (Kerry am b'ea) "Is that so?", fear is ea é "it's a man", and so on.

Disjunctive forms

If a pronoun is not the subject or if a subject pronoun does not follow the verb (as in a verbless clause, or as the subject of the copula, where the pronoun stands at the end of the sentence), the so-called disjunctive forms are used:

Person Singular Plural
1st mé sinn, muid
2nd thĂș sibh
3rd masc. Ă©;
fem. Ă­
iad

In Munster dialects the form thĂș is either (a) archaic (replaced by tĂș) or (b) is only found after words ending in a vowel.

Standard
Buailim thĂș ("I hit you", present tense), Bhuail mĂ© thĂș ("I hit you", past tense)
Dialect type (a)
Buailim tĂș, Bhuail mĂ© tĂș
Dialect type (b)
Buailim tĂș, Bhuail mĂ© thĂș

Intensive forms

Irish also has intensive pronouns, used to give the pronouns a bit more weight or emphasis.

Person Singular Plural
1st mise muidne, sinne
2nd t(h)usa sibhse
3rd masc. (s)eisean
fem. (s)ise
(s)iadsan

The forms thusa, eisean and ise are disjunctive forms, while tusa, seisean and sise are conjunctive forms.

The word fĂ©in (/fÊČeːnÊČ/ or /heːnÊČ/) "-self" can follow a pronoun, either to add emphasis or to form a reflexive pronoun.

Rinne mé féin é. "I did it myself."
Ar ghortaigh tĂș thĂș fĂ©in? "Did you hurt yourself?"
Sinn FĂ©in is thus "We Ourselves"

Possessive determiners

The possessive determiners cause different initial consonant mutations.

mo "my" lenites; m’ precedes vowels

mo chara "my friend"
m'fheirm "my farm"
m'athair "my father"

do "your (sg.)" lenites; d’ (or t' in many dialects) precedes vowels

do chara "your friend"
d'fheirm/t'fheirm "your farm"
d'athair/t'athair "your father"

a "his" lenites

a chara "his friend"
a fheirm "his farm"
a athair "his father"

a "her" takes the radical of a consonant and adds an h to a vowel

a cara "her friend"
a feirm "her farm"
a hathair "her father"

ĂĄr "our" eclipses

ĂĄr gcara "our friend"
ĂĄr bhfeirm "our farm"
ĂĄr n-athair "our father"

bhur "your(pl.)" eclipses

bhur gcara "your friend"
bhur bhfeirm "your farm"
bhur n-athair "your father"

a "their" eclipses

a gcara "their friend"
a bhfeirm "their farm"
a n-athair "their father"

The forms a and ĂĄr can also blend with certain prepositions:

de & do dĂĄ chara "from/to his friend"
dĂĄ feirm "from/to her farm"
dĂĄr n-athair "from/to our father"
dĂĄ n-athair "from/to their father"
faoi faoina chara "about his friend"
faoinĂĄr n-athair "about our father"
i ina feirm "in her farm"
inĂĄr bhfeirm "in our farm"
le lena n-athair "with their father"
lenĂĄr bpĂĄiste "with our child"
Ăł Ăłna bhean "from his wife"
ĂłnĂĄr dtaighde "from our research"
trĂ­ trĂ­na cos "through her foot"
trĂ­nĂĄr dteach "through our house"

The object of a verbal noun is in the genitive case:

Similarly, if the object of the verbal noun is a pronoun, then it is a possessive pronoun:

More examples:

Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns introduce a question, e.g. the words who, what, which. The Irish equivalents are:

Examples:

Prepositions

As the object of a preposition, a pronoun is fused with the preposition; one speaks here of "inflected" prepositions, or, as they are more commonly termed, prepositional pronouns.

ag "at"
1 agam "at me" againn "at us"
2 agat "at you (sg.)" agaibh "at you (pl.)"
3 aige "at him"
aici "at her"
acu "at them"
ar "on"
1 orm orainn
2 ort oraibh
3 air
uirthi
orthu
as "out of, from"
1 asam asainn
2 asat asaibh
3 as
aisti
astu
chuig, chun "to, towards"
1 chugam chugainn
2 chugat chugaibh
3 chuige
chuici
chucu
de "from, of"
1 dĂ­om dĂ­nn
2 dĂ­ot dĂ­bh
3 de
di
dĂ­obh

do "to, for"
1 dom dĂșinn
2 duit daoibh
3 dĂł
di
dĂłibh
faoi "under; about (concerning)"
1 fĂșm fĂșinn
2 fĂșt fĂșibh
3 faoi
fĂșithi
fĂșthu
i "in"
1 ionam ionainn
2 ionat ionaibh
3 ann
inti
iontu
idir "between"
1 idir mé eadrainn
2 idir thĂș eadraibh
3 idir Ă©
idir Ă­
eatarthu
le "with"
1 liom linn
2 leat libh
3 leis
léi
leo

Ăł "from, since"
1 uaim uainn
2 uait uaibh
3 uaidh
uaithi
uathu
roimh "before, in front of"
1 romham romhainn
2 romhat romhaibh
3 roimhe
roimpi
rompu
thar "beyond, over"
1 tharam tharainn
2 tharat tharaibh
3 thairis
thairsti
tharstu
trĂ­ 'through'
1 trĂ­om trĂ­nn
2 trĂ­ot trĂ­bh
3 trĂ­d
trĂ­thi
trĂ­othu
um "around"
1 umam umainn
2 umat umaibh
3 uime
uimpi
umpu

Numbers

Cardinal numbers

There are three kinds of cardinal numbers in Irish: disjunctive numbers, nonhuman conjunctive numbers, and human conjunctive numbers.

Disjunctive numbers

0 nåid 13 a trí déag
1 a haon 14 a ceathair déag
2 a dĂł 20 fiche
3 a trĂ­ 21 fiche a haon
4 a ceathair 30 trĂ­ocha
5 a cĂșig 40 daichead
6 a sé 50 caoga
7 a seacht 60 seasca
8 a hocht 70 seachtĂł
9 a naoi 80 ochtĂł
10 a deich 90 nĂłcha
11 a haon déag 100 céad
12 a dó dhéag 1000. míle

These numbers are used for example in arithmetic, in telling time, in telephone numbers and after nouns in forms like bus a trí déag "bus 13" or seomra a dó "room 2".

Nonhuman conjunctive numbers

These numbers are used to count nouns that do not refer to human beings, e.g. capall "horse"

1 aon chapall amhĂĄin;
capall amhĂĄin
13 trí chapall déag
2 dhĂĄ chapall 20 fiche capall
3 trĂ­ chapall 21 capall is fiche
4 ceithre chapall 22 dhĂĄ chapall is fiche
5 cĂșig chapall 30 trĂ­ocha capall
6 sé chapall 40 daichead capall
7 seacht gcapall 50 caoga capall
8 ocht gcapall 60 seasca capall
9 naoi gcapall 70 seachtĂł capall
10 deich gcapall 80 ochtĂł capall
11 aon chapall déag 90 nócha capall
12 dhå chapall déag 100 céad capall

"One" as a pronoun is rendered with ceann (lit. "head") when it concerns things and animals, e.g.:

TĂĄ cĂșig chapall agam; tĂĄ ceann acu breoite. "I have five horses; one of them is sick."

Human conjunctive numbers

These numbers are used to count nouns that refer to human beings, e.g. pĂĄiste 'child'

1 aon phĂĄiste amhĂĄin;
pĂĄiste amhĂĄin
7 seachtar pĂĄistĂ­
2 beirt phĂĄistĂ­ 8 ochtar pĂĄistĂ­
3 triĂșr pĂĄistĂ­ 9 naonĂșr pĂĄistĂ­
4 ceathrar pĂĄistĂ­ 10 deichniĂșr pĂĄistĂ­
5 cĂșigear pĂĄistĂ­ 11 aon phĂĄiste dĂ©ag
6 seisear påistí 12 dåréag påistí

"One" as a pronoun is rendered with duine (lit. "person") with people. The other "personal" numbers can also be used pronominally, e.g.:

TĂĄ cĂșigear pĂĄistĂ­ agam; tĂĄ duine acu breoite. "I have five children; one of them is sick."
TĂĄ seisear sa seomra. "Six people are in the room."

Higher numbers are done as with the nonhuman conjunctive numbers: trí phåiste déag, fiche påiste, etc.

Ordinal numbers

1st an chĂ©ad chapall 13th an trĂ­Ăș capall dĂ©ag
2nd an dara capall 20th an fichiĂș capall
3rd an trĂ­Ăș capall 21st an t-aonĂș capall is fiche
4th an ceathrĂș capall 22nd an dĂłĂș chapall is fiche
5th an cĂșigiĂș capall 30th an trĂ­ochadĂș capall
6th an sĂ©Ăș capall 40th an daicheadĂș capall
7th an seachtĂș capall 50th an caogadĂș capall
8th an t-ochtĂș capall 60th an seascadĂș capall
9th an naoĂș capall 70th an seachtĂłdĂș capall
10th an deichiĂș capall 80th an t-ochtĂłdĂș capall
11th an t-aonĂș capall dĂ©ag 90th an nĂłchadĂș capall
12th an dĂłĂș capall dĂ©ag 100th an cĂ©adĂș capall

Phonology

Main article: Irish phonology

A notable feature of Irish phonology is that consonants (except /h/) come in pairs, one "broad" (velarized, pronounced with the back of the tongue pulled back towards the soft palate) and one "slender" (palatalized, pronounced with the middle of the tongue pushed up towards the hard palate).

Consonant phonemes
Labial Coronal Dorsal Glottal
Bilabial Labio-
velar
Labio-
dental
Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar
Palatal Velar
broad slender broad broad slender broad broad slender slender slender broad
Plosives voiceless pË  pÊČ tÌȘË  tÊČ c k
voiced bË  bÊČ dÌȘË  dÊČ ÉŸ ÉĄ
Fricative/
Approximant
voiceless fË  fÊČ sË  ʃ ç x h
voiced w vÊČ j c
Nasal mË  mÊČ nÌȘË  nÊČ ÉČ Ć‹
Tap ÉŸË  ÉŸÊČ
Lateral lÌȘË  lÊČ
Vowel phonemes
Front Central Back
Close iː uː
Near-close j ʊ
Close-mid eː oː
Mid ə
(only unstressed)
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open ɡ ɑː

Diphthongs: /iə/, /uə/, /əi/, /əu/.

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